The manager has taken every review of United's struggles as a personal slight but it's time everyone started to focus on the good of the team
Jose Mourinho has spent a lot of the past week bigging up his record as a manager.
The 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham, coming hot on the heels of the 3-2 reverse at Brighton, has left many questioning the Manchester United boss’s pedigree in modern football and his response was to go on the attack.
“Three Premierships,” he said in his post-match press conference, holding three fingers aloft. “I won more Premierships alone than the other 19 managers together."
Then, on Friday, when asked to speak of the place Manchester United holds in his heart, he again turned the conversation back to him and his reputation.
“I am the manager of one of the greatest clubs in the world, but I am also one of the greatest managers in the world,” he argued.
“I am the only manager in the world that won in Italy, Spain and England and not small titles or countries. And last season, I repeat, my second position last season is one of my greatest achievements in football.”
United fans spent much of their dominant period under Sir Alex Ferguson responding to the talk of rivals’ former glories with great mirth, accusing them of living in the past. But right now they have a manager who appears to be doing exactly the same.
Mourinho is taking questions asked about the present and instead spinning them into an attack on his record. Nobody will ever take away the eight league titles he has won, nor his 17 other trophies of various shapes and sizes, but if he makes a mess of things at Old Trafford there is a possibility there will be few additions to his honours list going forward.
As United head to Burnley on Sunday, they do so needing to know that everybody is on the same page, everybody is fighting for the badge and everybody is equally committed to the group rather than worrying about themselves or their own reputations.
It is every bit as true of Paul Pogba as it is of Anthony Martial. It applies to Ed Woodward just as much as to David de Gea. And it is also vital that everybody within the corridors of the club’s Carrington training ground is convinced that Mourinho has Manchester United’s future success at the forefront of his mind rather than worrying about supposed attacks on his personal achievements.
No more ‘I have won' this or 'My record shows' that.
United fans don’t care what Mourinho won at Chelsea; they are only interested in what he can win for United. And, as such, it is time that the Portuguese stopped blowing his own trumpet and got on with the job in hand.
All he is doing with his concerted quest to take offence at everything is turning gradually more and more supporters against him. Sure, there were a group in the Stretford End still singing his name after full-time on Monday, but what of the thousands who left as soon as Lucas Moura had bagged Spurs’ third?
After two defeats in their opening three league fixtures, United arrive at Turf Moor a full nine points off the pace set by Liverpool and Chelsea, and they can barely afford any more slip-ups already.
Mourinho can’t keep talking up his past, and he can’t keep claiming last season to have been some kind of triumph because, frankly, that has all gone now and United are in danger of making another top-two spot nigh-on impossible less than a month into the new season.
So often in the past, Manchester United has been a club which has closed ranks in times of struggle and found the strength as a united group to work its way out. In contrast, the current shambles of dig and counter-dig is unedifying to say the least.
The only way Mourinho will be able to convince the world that he remains one of the greatest managers in the game is by turning United’s fortunes around and making them champions again in the very near future.
Only then can he truly have the last word. And until that day, there needs to be a lot less talk and far more action.
Elsa98
53
Mourinho really have something to prove after his team defeat 3-0 against spurs..[Comeon][Comeon]
Yuzdops
40
if Mourinho cannot win anything with this utd squad which has so much talent then I don't think he is a good manager anymore in 2016/17 Chelsea had a lwb who nobody had heard of before ,a rwb who is basically a winger and had spent most of his career out on loan , a RCB who is not a genuine cb by trade , lcb who was not deemed worthy of Chelsea colours and MCB who was judged as an error prone defender ..Conte didn't get the players he wanted but he worked with what he got and made them title winners and one of the hardest teams to score against. instead of moaning what he don't have Mourinho should appreciate what he has and utilise these players in best of their abilities ..if he don't have a good defence then he should set his team so that they outscore the other team ..just like Liverpool did until they got van Dijk good luck to Mourinho
godykemanutd
38
Despite the years the author of this article have been following football he or she still has no common knowledge of who Jose Mourinho is or how he will respond when things are not going in the Direction of his club and players. Many might be against Mou answer but me personally i am satisfied with his answer. Jose response was just his way of taken the pressure away from the Club and his players and hold it unto himself. If Jose made the mistake of answering the question accordingly, another question will be about his players and their performances and he will be asked to give assessment of each of his players and finally he will be asked about his relationship with the board and director's of Manchester United. Going back and taken all the journalist present back to the past was A CLASSIC RESPONSE FROM JOSE. cause it will make those who are trying to fuel more trouble to go back to the past forgotten what is happening in the present and before the will know what is happening, the press conference will be over. That's JOSE MOURINHO FOR YOU.
rezcmpz
33
The problem with the current team is simply we are not arrogant enough. People talk about the Man Utd way of playing, but to me that was Sir Alex's way of playing. It was damn good but that's past. We lost that play when he retired. Now with Mourinho, whose natural persona IS about arrogance, its time the players act like the boss and size up every play, every tackle, every fight on the pitch with arrogance, just like how 'The Rock' used to do it in WWF in the past... Once all the boys man up and be a team hated by all, we will succeed. The last time I saw that was when we played City and stopped them being crowned Champioons on our turf. C'mon boys! Be the hated bunch! No more Mr.Nice guys!
TempleK
32
Talking is part of the job. Words are more important than most people ever recognize. Your words get you the job and also can get you out of it. I trust Mou completely and his records back his words. Some people call him Arrogant but for me is Confidence. He has nothing more to prove to anyone. Mou has won it all in club football and he has been at the upper echelon on the game for the past 3 decades. He is the most easily recognisable faces in the world today and that shows how much fame, power and influence Mou has. He is A winner and a born leader.
Nisdklmrtu
26
what I don't understand is the fact that everyone his pointing the finger at Manchester United defence last season they conceded the lease amount of goal behind behind Man City admittedly in a Mourinho systems when they play opposition and the longer the game progress without United scoring first their defense become shaky and nervous that creates a boat load of problem with the team I personally feel that all what this team need is a skillful striker in mode Sergio Aguero that can create on score goal on own and I feel that Mourinho has two players at the club who can do that in Martial and Sanchez but they need to be given a chance. Lukaku is just not a world class striker who can bring Manchester United to the next level